I question things which people take for granted. I would have been that kid who said the emperor was naked. In real life that kid would probably have been lynched, but I'll take my chances...
I believe truth inherently valuable, no matter how well intentioned the ideology it dispels may be.
I also write about random interesting things from my personal life.

06 December 2008

A practical and useful blog!

It has come to my attention that a lot of people don't really know about these
options.

Chances are, if you are reading this, you have a computer, and if you have a
computer, you will probably find one or more of these things useful.
They are free.
And they are even legal.

The first are related to security. Internet relate hacking can be a big problem
when someone cracks into your computer remotely and ID thefts you. A bad virus
can permanently crash computer. A dialer can rack up 100s in unauthorized phone
charges by using your fax line to dial 900 numbers. Mostly its just annoying
software that hopes to entice you to buy some stupid crap.
While Norton and McAfee would like you to spend $60 plus a ongoing subscription
charge, you can get equally good protection from viruses, spyware, and hackers,
all for free.

There are plenty of other free security software out there, but not all are
equal. In fact, there are some "spyware removal" programs which are
actually spyware themselves, and "antivirus" programs which install
their own viruses.
These 3 programs have been around for many many years, and are well known. They
have been shown in tests to be as effective as the big brand name versions. I
personally have been using them successfully for years.

Then there is plain old Mozilla Firefox. It seems most people already know
about it. According to my data compiler, almost as many people access my
website using it as use Internet Explorer. If you aren't among them: Firefox
takes the place of Internet Explorer. It has fewer security flaws. It is easier
to use, but at the same time has more options and is more configurable. The
latest version of IE was basically them trying to catch up with the format
Firefox has had all along (most obviously the "tabs" option, which
allows you to have two subwindows open within the same main window.) There is
the added bonus of not using Microsoft software.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
Chances are that you are using Firefox to read this right now.
But within it, there is something called "add-ons" which a lot of
people never notice. Its in the menu bar under "tools".
Some examples:
AdBlock Plus. It will block all of the annoying flashing and animated
advertising boxes and bars on 1/2 of the websites you use.
IETab. There are some webpages that don't function right in Firefox (because
they have a deal with microsoft - they are rare, but there are some). Allows
you to open a page in a virtual Internet Explorer window, within Mozilla.
Download StatusBar. Puts the separate download window in a more convenient spot
at the bottom of the browser window (the same place where the search bar pops
up when you hit cntrl F)
GMail notifier tells you with a tiny icon in the corner when you have a new
message, to eliminate the need to check 60 thousand times a day when you are
expecting something. There are similar add-ons for yahoo or Hotmail. They can
handle multiple accounts, and can be configured to tell you who a new message
is from and the subject, and/or to make a tone so you know even if you aren't
at the computer.
There are many more options, which may be useful depending on what sort of
things you do on the internet. There are over 2000.
They are free, and couldn't be easier to install.
Go to "add-ons" (under tools)
Pick what you want, download, restart firefox, done!
or https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

Finally:
Have you ever hit "copy" or cntrl C, and then a little later tried to
paste what you copied into another place, only to discover that you
accidentally copied something else more recently? Clipboard recorder remembers
the last 100 things that you copied, so you can recall any of them, regardless
of what you copied last. This may sound unnecessary right now, but believe me,
after the first time you use it, you will wonder why it isn't built in to the
operating system.
If I had to estimate, I would have to say I use it about 1 million times a
day.

All of these programs are genuinely free. There are no ads, no reminders
begging you for money, and they are not illegal copies.
They are just free.
Some have pay versions, with more features.
Some simply were never made for the sake of profit.
If you like the software, I encourage you to donate to the people who created
it.
Its a whole different outlook, creating things to share with the world, w/o
attempting to extract as much as possible from it. But I said I wouldn't rant.